(EXPANDED FROM 3/5/2021)
In the comments we’ve recently talked about Chris Bangle, so I thought I would expand a story I had written a few years ago about one of the most controversial designs that came out during his tenure as BMW design chief — the E65. This was the fourth-generation 7 Series, which was produced from 2001-2008 (Wikipedia, 2024).
I should quickly note that the E65 was actually designed by Adrian van Hooydonk — who ended up succeeding Bangle as design chief. However, Bangle was the guy who approved the design (Rivers, 2022).
Michael Lamm and Dave Holls quite rightly argue that “full credit has to go to the person in overall charge because, theoretically at least, it’s his judgement that counts. If the design succeeds, he’s a hero. If it fails, he’s out of a job. He’s the person responsible” (1996, p. 207).
When I saw an E65 for the first time in years, I tried to view it with fresh eyes. Did it still look as bad as I thought it did back in the day? One thing that immediately struck me was how the overall design was not a radical break from the past. You can see many long-standing BMW styling cues, such as a sheetmetal crease just below the beltline and a Hofmeister kick in the C-pillar’s window cut out.
Inching toward a quirkier design sensibility
Bangle’s mischief began with front-end details, such as moving BMW’s traditional circular quad headlights below an eye brow that included the turn signals. Mercedes Streeter (2022) described the headlights as “droopy.”
Bangle also shifted slightly backward the kidney grille, which had been forward thrusting since the 1960s. The result would appear to be more aerodynamic, which to my mind was a good thing. However, the eyebrows were not very attractive. That said, the fascia’s overall look wasn’t a disaster either.
I can’t say the same about the car’s rear end. The awkward way the trunk lid cuts across the taillights was justified by Bangle as improving aerodynamics (Automotive News, 2005). That may well have been true, but that didn’t make it look any better. Some derisively dubbed it a “Bangle butt.”
Bangle butt did not spark a design revolution
When the E65 was introduced Bangle predicted that “in a few years all luxury cars will look like this” (Patton, 2009). That didn’t turn out to be the case, but Bryon Fitzpatrick of the College of Creative Studies in Detroit noted that a number of car designs appeared to have been inspired by Bangle’s handiwork, including the Hyundai Azera and Acura RL (Automotive News, 2005).
I suppose you could take a “glass-is-half-full” attitude and say that Bangle’s stylistic gamble proved at least somewhat successful. The challenge with that theory is its flip side. Put bluntly, bad taste has never held back the auto industry’s tendency toward groupthink.
Nico DeMattia (2015) of BMWBlog has suggested that this design “is starting to gain quite a following, with people proclaiming Bangle to be a genius and visionary and that the E65 was simply too far ahead of its time.” However, DeMattia acknowledged that the criticism of this and other Bangle designs led to his departure from BMW.
“Many loyal BMW fans were outraged by his radical designs that seemed to stray so far from BMW’s DNA, so they wanted him out,” wrote DeMattia (2015).
The 6 Series arguably better utilized new design theme
The styling cues that first showed up in the E65 were gradually integrated into the rest of the BMW lineup during Bangle’s tenure, which lasted until 2009 (Streeter, 2022). Arguably a more successful execution was with the second-generation 6 Series, which is typically described as the E63.
The coupe and convertible more closely reflected the original inspiration for the design theme, which came from the 1999 Z9 Gran Turismo Concept (Streeter, 2022). The E63 is still a little weird but has a much cleaner design than the E65. Of course, designers had to work around fewer practical constraints such as a sedan’s need for a larger trunk.
Bangle more recently offered his views on Lexus styling
More that two decades have passed since the Bangle butt made its debut, but the E65’s trunk lid still reminds me of a cancerous tumor. Even so, DeMattia has argued that a number of more recent BMWs have been “far uglier,” such as the 5 Series GT (2015).
One might also reasonably suggest that the E65 is less outrageous than any number of designs by other automakers. Consider the Lexus UX crossover, which was introduced in 2018 (Capparella, 2018). A few years ago Bangle weighed in on that controversial vehicle — and Lexus styling in general:
“Here is a brand and design group that says, ‘We are going to start with an idiosyncratic direction and we are going to stay on this until we hammer it into something.’ It has taken them years but they are actually creating something out of it. At least what you’re seeing there is a commitment toward revitalizing a brand through a strong design statement, not a predictable one.” (Automotive News, 2018)
‘Revitalizing’ isn’t quite the word I would use
What Bangle is essentially advocating is design masturbation. Snickers aside, this is actually a healthy and normal activity. The problem is when it is done in public rather than in the privacy of a design studio.
Bangle presumably still doesn’t get how his stylistic explorations damaged the BMW brand. Now he is essentially encouraging a younger generation of designers to follow his lead.
I assume that Bangle is sincerely expressing his perspective. However, it also doesn’t hurt his own reputation when other designers come out with concepts that make his BMWs look tame in comparison.
NOTES:
This story was originally posted on Oct. 1, 2019 and expanded on March 5, 2021 and March 6, 2024.
Share your reactions to this post with a comment below or a note to the editor.
RE:SOURCES
- Automotive News; 2015. “Bangle butts.” Subscription required. Posted Nov. 14.
- ——; 2018. “Bangle on Geneva: Opportunities lost.” p. 64; March 26 print edition (no link available).
- Capparella, Joseph; 2018. “Lexus UX: A Tiny Crossover with Outsize Styling.” Car and Driver. Posted March 2018.
- DeMattia, Nico; 2015. “The Story Of The Infamous ‘Bangle Butt.'” BMWBlog. Posted Jan. 21.
- Lamm, Michael and Dave Holls; 1996. A Century of Automotive Style: 100 Years of American Car Design. Lamm-Morada Publishing Co.
- Patton, Phil; 2009. “Chris Bangle Recalls Controversial BMW 7 Series Design.” The New York Times. Posted Nov. 24.
- Rivers, Stephen; 2022. “20 Years After Its Launch, What Are Your Thoughts On Chris Bangle’s BMW 7 Series E65?” Carscoops. Posted Oct. 13.
- Streeter, Mercedes; 2022. “Chris Bangle And His Obsession With Big Automotive Butts Made For BMW’s Best Designs.” The Autopian. Posted Sept. 9.
- Wikipedia; 2024. “BMW 7 Series (E65).” Page last edited Feb. 16.
The Bangle Butt is the rear end version of deSoto’s ’61 front end.
No matter how hard one tries, the eyes and brain cannot make either of them work.
Honorable Mention : Tarpon/Marlin, 61/62 full size Dodges, ’03 Mitsubishi Montero [not the Sport], last gen Celica, Hyundai Veloster.
It would have been interesting to know what Raymond Loewy, Virgin Exner, Bill Mitchell, George Walker, Richard Teague and Harley Earl would have think of the Bangle butt if they was still with us.
I actually love the Bangle Butt 7-series and I always have. I think that it certainly aged better than virtually all other early 2000s sedans. IMO, the Bangle Butt has nothing on the current BMWs’ front fascia design in terms of sheer ugliness…
As I recall the E65 was considered a sales success. Controversial styling can sometimes prove to be a good strategic choice, particularly in a product where the purchaser is motivated to buy it in part as a display object. As against the rather more staid W220 S Class, not to mention D3 A8 or XF30 LS, the E65 offered something that would definitely get the owner noticed.
Bangle may be far better at pontificating on design than being a designer.
BMW needed to find a new design direction as they were stuck in a dead end. For that Bangle gets credit.
The so called “Bangle Butt” is about trying to find a way to integrate a taller trunk lid for aerodynamics. This was not the best solution but it was trying to avoid a generate answer that could have come from any brand.
The greater influence of Bangle was the “flame surfacing” that permeated through the young designers. It is an interesting concept of how the reflections play across a body surface as viewpoints change. My suspicion is that this has a lot to do with 3D modeling making it easy to rotate a design in space to watch this happen. The downside result of all this is designers making complicated shapes solely to show this characteristic instead of cohesive design.
I used to aspire to own a B.M.W. since the mid-1960s. My father owned a 530-four-door sedan in the early 1970s: Elegantly simple, in my opinion. The B.M.W. styling including and after the “Bangle Butt” took a severe decline from gorgeous and clean to bizarre with the front-end styling ranking at the absolute bottom. (To quote the infamous “Car & Driver” cover of a couple of years back featuring the big dog covering the butt-ugly grill, “WOOF”!) Oh, and don’t forget the 2013 Chevrolet Malibu with its “Bangle Butt” as standard equipment ! I remember the TV commercials featuring Isaac Mizrahi talking about how he approves of the 2013 Malibu’s styling, especially the styling in from the rear. No wonder Target no longer features and advertises his designs !
The 2007-2011 “sixth-generation” Toyota Camry inflicted the “Bangle Butt” to an even wider international audience. As a passenger car, it was okay to drive, but the car’s front-end looked like it had a “pimple” for its Toyota insignia. In May of 2006, I almost joined a Toyota dealer’s sales force, and the second day of my sales training, the new Camrys arrived. I could not look at that front-end of the new Camry, so I became a substitute teacher instead. I still think it is an ugly car even today. Maybe Dr. Pimplepopper can come to the rescue !